Victim's family shares decades of devastation; Hopkins sentenced up to 16 years in prison

Thursday

Feb 27, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 27, 2014 at 12:15 AM

Kristen Doerschner

BEAVER -- While friends and family of Catherine Janet Walsh tearfully testified Wednesday about the impact her murder has had on them for the past 34 years, her convicted killer, through his attorney, maintained his innocence.

Beaver County Judge Harry Knafelc sentenced Gregory Scott Hopkins, 67, of Bridgewater, to serve eight to 16 years in prison for the Sept. 1, 1979, murder of Walsh in her Monaca home. A jury convicted Hopkins of third-degree murder after a lengthy trial in November.

Hopkins will get credit for the time he has served in the Beaver County Jail since he was charged.

Before the sentence was handed down, Walsh’s friend, brother and husband all addressed the court and Hopkins.

Francesco Caltieri, Walsh’s brother, said Janet Walsh was more than a sister, but his friend.

“That event ruined my life,” Caltieri said of his sister’s murder. “I haven’t been the same since.”

Caltieri was tearful and emotional as he recounted how he became paranoid following her death, not knowing who had killed her. He said his brother, Joe, who has since passed away, would burst into tears at the mention of their sister’s name and cried himself to sleep for a long time after her death.

“He (Joe) was just so happy to have a little sister. He was going to protect her and take care of her. It devastated him that he failed,” Caltieri said.

“My mother, shortly thereafter, became a zombie … There were days and days on end where she wouldn’t come out of the bedroom,” Caltieri said. “She became a hollow shell.”

Walsh’s father, Peter Caltury, lived to see Hopkins arrested, but died before the trial.

Caltieri, who uses the original spelling of the family’s surname, said his father was “old school” and didn’t show emotion. “It almost became taboo to talk about Janet,” he said.

Caltieri then turned his attention to Hopkins. He asked Knafelc to give Hopkins a 34-year sentence. “Give him the same time incarcerated that he has caused myself and my family to be incarcerated,” he said.

“Mr. Hopkins, you took my sister’s life. It was not yours to take,” Caltieri said. “My religion tells me I’m supposed to pray for you. You’re the one that needs it. I’m supposed to forgive you, but I’m not there yet.

“I wish for once in your life you would man up, tell us, for God sake, why,” Caltieri told Hopkins. “I’m not praying for you any time soon. You can go straight to hell.”

Walsh’s friend, Susan Neiderdal, said she grew up with Walsh. “She was like my little sister,” she said. She described Janet Walsh as sweet, funny, intelligent, beautiful and naïve.

“It changed me, who I am as a person. The pain never goes away,” Neiderdal said of her friend’s murder. “The thought of how she was brutally murdered haunts me every day.”

“You should never ever be allowed to be a part of society again. You’re a monster,” Neiderdal told Hopkins.

Scott Walsh, who was married to Janet Walsh at the time of her murder, said he was devastated. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it,” he said.

Scott Walsh said he was considered a suspect and wondered who and why someone would have killed Janet Walsh. He said he dealt with years of anxiety and depression following her death.

Scott Walsh told Hopkins it was clear the only person he ever cared about was himself.

Bridgewater Councilman Dennis Bevington, who served on council with Hopkins, told the judge about how Hopkins helped his family after Bevington’s son was left paralyzed following an accident. He said Hopkins built a handicapped accessible room onto their home and never asked for any money in return.

Bevington described Hopkins as a man who devoted himself to the community.

Another woman, Ginger Diab of Vanport Township, said she met Hopkins through her job working in a local restaurant. She said about four years ago when her house needed a new roof, Hopkins offered to help. She said he told her if she bought the materials, he would put the roof on, and he did so without charging her.

Attorney Adam Cogan, who will be representing Hopkins in his appeal, maintained his client’s innocence and indicated that he believed Hopkins would be let go upon appeal.

Hopkins did not address the court, but Cogan referenced a letter he wrote expressing his sorrow for Walsh and her family.

Assistant District Attorney Frank Martocci said Hopkins’ remorse now is “revisionist history” done for the purposes of the sentencing hearing. He said Hopkins never showed remorse for Walsh’s death in 1979 or in court during the trial.

Cogan asked Knafelc not to heed the calls for vengeance from the victim’s family, but rather to be just in his sentence. He described Hopkins as “a man who will suffer greatly in prison” because of his age and “diminutive” stature.

Martocci said he was asking for justice for a life cut short while Hopkins went on to live his life.

Cogan asked Knafelc to consider the years Hopkins has spent helping other people.

Knafelc said he took into consideration the letters from both sides, including numerous letters describing Hopkins as a good family man, a compassionate employer and a generous member of the community.

“Nothing can be more difficult for a family than to lose a child,” Knafelc said, adding that Walsh’s death “diminishes all of us.”

Knafelc said he was a young defense attorney at the time of her murder, and he remembers friends and family who moved away from Monaca because they were afraid to live there.

After the sentence was handed down, Caltieri said his family has always wanted justice, not vengeance. He said, “This is the first time I can say I believe my sister is resting in peace. It’s finally done. He’s going to jail.”

The Hopkins family declined to comment to media following the sentencing.

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